Jeans, hoodies, hats and even flip-flops changed hands at the Los Altos High School Green Team’s inaugural clothing swap in November in the quad.
“It was a trial, but we were happy with the results,” club co-president Luke Byrne said of the Nov. 12 event. “Approximately 75 students participated and a lot of people who came ended up getting two or three items.”
The success has inspired the Green Team, the school’s environmental club, to make the free clothing swap a regular event, according to Byrne.
“I think twice a year would probably be a good estimate,” senior Byrne said. “We also want to have time for other events.”
Aiming to combat waste and promote conscious consumption, the student-led clothing swap met its goal of keeping quality items out of the landfill, Byrne added. He said the club also wanted to show that there’s a more environmentally friendly way to get new clothes, like thrift shopping, to build a more conscious community.
“It’s a nice way to be able to make use of something you’re not using,” Byrne said, “It’s good for the environment and sustainability.”
Clothing was primarily collected in bins in the school library the first week of November, according to Green Team co-president Linnea Forslin. Donors were asked to wash the items to ensure they were in good condition. Once all the clothing was collected, Forslin sorted it, with the help of their parents, by size and gender.
Any remaining clothing after the swap was donated to small local charities, including Hope’s Corner in Mountain View.
Green Team members said the biggest challenge the team faced was getting the word out to enough students about the clothes swap.
“We filled out the forms through ASB not early enough,” senior Forslin said, “Because of that, we couldn’t start collecting and advertising as early as we would’ve liked.”
She added that the club plans to start advertising earlier next time, use social media for better outreach and set up more collection bins across campus instead of just in the library. Green Team would also like to work with the associated student body to reach more people.
“We are looking to collaborate with ASB for our next one,” Byrne said, “As a part of Diversity Week, because fashion is a big part of self-expression.”
